19 years later
by Boleyn's Patronus
Summary: Albus Potter is starting Hogwarts along with his cousin, Rose Weasley. When the Sorting hat makes a choice that creates controversy between Albus and his brother, he is forced to find solace in someone that he would have otherwise never consider as a friend.
1. Chapter 1

Albus pressed his face to the window as the train gathered speed, trying to keep his smiling parents in view until the last possible moment. Too soon, it turned a corner and there was nothing but darkness and wires in the stead of all the wizarding families left behind on the platform.

"You're not going to _cry_, are you?" James said loudly, eying Albus disparagingly.

Albus glared back, "No," He said defiantly, and turned to the window again, more to hide his wet eyelashes than to look at the sooty walls of the tunnel.

After about five minutes of the girls chatting about the Hogwarts ghosts while James sat counting his gobstones, Albus heard the compartment door open. In the window's reflection he saw a pale-blond head sticking through the doorway before James leapt up, blocking the view.

"What are _you_ doing here?" James demanded. Albus turned to face the room and recognised the boy to be Scorpius Malfoy.

"Everywhere else is full. I was wondering…"

James cut across the boy's trailing voice, "You weren't seriously considering that we'd let you sit with us?"

"James!" Rose said warningly.

He ignored her. "Get out you disgusting little brat!"

Scorpius didn't need telling twice, the compartment door shut with a snap and he disappeared from sight, his face a searing pink and his eyes gleaming with tears.

"James, how could you say that?" Rose was glaring at him with her fists shoved into the cushioned seat either side of her.

"In case you didn't notice, that was the Malfoy boy." James said, as if it cleared up everything, and he turned to look out of the window.

"So?"

James turned back to face her. "His family are evil, Rose, they were all deatheaters or just as bad."

"My Mum said that they renounced the dark lord and all his blood-purity nonsense. They're on our side now." Rose returned, folding her arms.

"Only because the other side was completely destroyed, and they only renounced him after he'd been killed. Can't you see that they're only on our side because there's nowhere else to go? Merlin, you're so green, Rose."

Rose shot him a resentful look; she hated being told things like that, like she was too stupid to understand. She was always trying to prove her worth and to be treated as an equal. James, on the other hand, was arrogant, Albus thought that he simply didn't understand the impact he had on other people's feelings; he wouldn't hurt someone on purpose. Apart from Malfoy or another one of the deatheaters' kids, but that was different: they came from families of murderers.

James refused to meet her eyes, he stared resolutely out of the window at the wires lining the tunnel, and Rose eventually gave up and went back to talking to her friend. She was also starting this year, and they both started discussing the sorting.

"I just hope I don't end up in Hufflepuff," moaned Carrie, a fat blonde girl, for the seventh time.

"Don't worry, the sorting hat does take your decision into account," Said her cousin, Rebecca, consolingly. Rebecca was a Gryffindor and in James' year.

Carrie didn't look very mollified. With a resigned air, she went back to feeding Rebecca's owl treats through the bars of its cage.

"What about you, Al?" Asked Rose, "What house do you think you'll be in?"

"Slytherin is my guess," Said James smugly, without taking his eyes away from the window.

Albus remembered what his Dad had said to him, that he was named after a Slytherin, who was the bravest man he'd ever known. Perhaps being in Slytherin wouldn't be so bad after all: over the course of nearly two decades the blood-purity attitude of Slytherin house had been mostly eradicated. All that remained of _toujours pur_ attitude were the memories of Slytherin before the Final Battle of Hogwarts.

"I don't know" He said to Rose, as if his brother hadn't said anything.

"Well that's okay, because at the end of the day it doesn't really matter what house you're in, as long as you're happy there," Said Rose, beaming at him. Albus managed a smile back.

The tunnel finally opened to reveal the wide, blue sky with the sun glistening high above them. Rebecca put her owl on the seat opposite her and opened her bag to reveal a stack of chocolate frog cards she'd collected over the summer.

"Have a look at these, James, see if these could add to your collection. These are the ones I already have. It's five sickles a card."

He got out of his bag a slightly smaller stack of spare cards and they exchanged, and spent the rest of the morning shuffling though the famous witches and wizards.

Albus and Rose watched the little houses go by as the Hogwarts Express neared the outskirts of London. Soon there were fields and the occasional forest or lake flowing by their window, glimmering in the late summer sun.

Their stomachs began to grumble as the day grew hotter, and they all started to get their money out for lunch even before the sounds of trolley wheels rolling across the floor reached them.

James stood up to open the compartment door as the voice of the ancient woman grew louder.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" She asked as she appeared in the doorway.

Albus was last to get his food, as he was furthest away from the door. He got a couple of cauldron cakes, some jelly slugs and a chocolate frog.

"Is that all you're having?" Asked James incredulously, his voice slightly muffled as he'd stuffed half a pumpkin pasty into his mouth a few seconds before. James had got about four pumpkin pasties, six cauldron cakes along with an assortment of sweets. He'd always had a huge appetite; he'd been known to eat entire birthday cakes by himself and not even feel sick.

Albus, on the other hand, was a more careful eater. He was small for his age, whereas James could possibly pass for a fourth or even fifth-year.

Rose had bought even less than Albus. She already had a container of fresh fruit to eat, which she offered round to everyone before starting on it herself. They'd all declined, of course, wanting to have as much room for sweets as possible.

The scenery outside grew wilder as they grazed on a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and discussed Quidditch.

"I'm going to try and get on the reserve team this year," Announced James, watching Rebecca carefully to see how she reacted. She was a chaser for the Gryffindor team.

"That's great, I'm sure you'll get in," She said, smiling, "I can help you train for the try-outs, if you want. You never know, you might get into the actual team."

"I doubt that, as I've never really taken it up seriously before. I missed a load of flying lessons when I was in the hospital wing after being attacked by those Grindylows."

"Well no one made you wade through all those weeds at the edge of the lake." Rebecca said.

"It was a dare, you can't not do a dare." James said, apparently offended by Rebecca's disregarding attitude toward the accident.

Rebecca gave him a withering glance before she stood up to get her trunk. "Come on guys, we'll be getting there soon so we might as well put on our robes."

There wasn't a lot of space to change but eventually they had all pulled on their uniform, James and Rebecca with the Gryffindor crest sewn onto theirs.

James' stomach rumbled loudly as the sun began to dip below the horizon, and Carrie began to fidget with the hem on her robes.

Albus felt himself becoming more and more nervous as the sky darkened and stars began to appear above them. All too soon, the train began to slow down and approach Hogsmeade station.


	2. Chapter 2

Albus followed Carrie and Rose out onto the platform.

"See you at the feast!" Called Rebecca, as she and James hurried away to join the crowds of older students heading towards the self-pulled carriages.

The other first-years were trying to make their way through the surge towards a dark figure holding a lantern aloft, so it could be seen over the heads of the other children.

As Albus, Rose and Carrie got nearer they could hear him calling, "First-years! Over here, this way! First-years!" What the man didn't have in stature, he made up for in width. His shoulders were broad and strong like he was used to lifting heavy loads. He would have been very intimidating if he had not looked so friendly. He had small blue eyes and Albus could see, even in the poor light, the creases round the edges that were due to laughter. His hair was thinning slightly and he had an almost comically big nose, which made him look even more amiable. Albus couldn't help smiling slightly back as the man beamed round at them all.

When the crowds had thinned, and there were about half a hundred students standing around him, still smiling, he introduced himself. "Hello everyone, and welcome to your first year at Hogwarts. I'm the gamekeeper, Braden Yew, and I'll be taking you to up to the school. Please follow me, and don't lag behind." These last three words were spoken with a slightly more serious tone, and many of the students began to jostle each other to stay as close to him as possible as he began to lead them away from the station, along a steep, narrow pathway disappearing into the dark trees at the edge of the platform.

Albus tried to look straight ahead at the bobbing lantern, but every so often he would trip along the slippery path and find himself swivelling his head round to make sure there wasn't some sort of monster waiting to grab his arm and drag him into the darkness. Not a moment too soon, the path rounded a bend and suddenly opened onto the edge of a great black lake. High on the mountain on the other side was a magnificent castle, laden with countless turrets and towers and bright, orange windows, shining like knuts against the starry sky.

Albus gasped and turned towards Rose and Carrie, who were both gazing, as if struck dumb, at the breath-taking sight.

"Right everyone!" Came Braden's voice, drawing the students' attention back to their side of the shore, "Get into the boats over there, no more than four to a boat, and when everyone's settled we'll head off."

Albus got separated from Carrie and Rose as the first-years surged toward the fleet of boats, each vessel fixed with a small lantern that lit up the insides with a friendly yellow light.

Albus got into a boat with a black-haired boy with huge eyes and a girl with long, elaborate braids falling down her back. Soon only two people were left on the shore, the gamekeeper and Scorpius Malfoy.

Albus looked quickly from left to right and saw, to his dismay, that all the other boats were filled. He turned away as Scorpius made his way towards them and climbed nimbly in.

When Braden had clambered into his own boat, he called "Forward!" And the boats began to glide across the smooth, glistening water, as if being pulled along by invisible ropes.

The children oohed and aahed as the castle grew bigger, it became even more enchantingly beautiful the closer they got.

"Heads down!" Shouted Braden, as the boats arrived at the bottom of the cliff.

Everyone ducked to avoid the low ceiling of rock that they were now passing under. The boats continued to drift through a thick curtain of ivy and along a tunnel that seemed to be carrying them right under the castle. They arrived at a sort of underground harbour, where they left the boats and followed the gamekeeper along a passageway cut right into the rock. Albus hurried to get away from Scorpius, and fell in line behind Carrie and Rose. Up and up they went until the passageway ended and the grounds began. They made their way across the damp grass towards the flight of stone steps. Braden knocked three times on the huge, oak front door as the last of them made their way up to the castle.

The door swung open to reveal a massive, sumptuously designed entrance hall. Indeed, it took the new students several moments to even notice the grim-looking teacher, clad in dark brown robes, standing before them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," He announced, and a few of the students jumped at his harsh, gravelly voice. "I am Professor Gorvett. Before I take you into the Great Hall for the start-of-term feast, I will tell you a bit about the sorting. Before you take your seats, you will undergo a test that will determine which house you will be put in. We at Hogwarts regard this as an extremely important ceremony because, while you attend this school, your house will be like your family. You will have classes with the rest of your house, as well as sleep in your house dormitory and spend your free time in the house common room. Your accomplishments will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of each year the house with the most points will be presented with the House Cup, an award held in very high esteem here at Hogwarts.

"The four houses are named Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house is recognised for its own honourable history and each has produced exceptional witches and wizards. I am sure each and every one of you will be benefit to their house." This sounded more like a threat than a wish. Albus' feet were beginning to grow numb with the cold, and he wished the teacher would hurry up, at least let them inside the building.

"Now if you would all like to follow me into the Great hall." The students nervously began to walk behind Professor Gorvett, towards the Gleaming Gold doors on the other side of the room. Braden seemed to have disappeared.

The doors opened to reveal many faces, glowing in the light of the hundreds of candles floating above them, turned towards the arrivals. Albus felt his stomach give a terrified somersault as Professor Gorvett began to lead them down the aisle between two tables, towards another long table set to face the four house tables. A hat atop a stool was set in the middle of the space in from of the teacher's table, the famous hat of Godric Gryffindor, the Sorting hat.

When the first years were congregated in a semi-circle around this stool, a large tear near the brim of the hat opened like a mouth, and the Sorting hat began to sing:

"_Long ago, the Hogwarts four made the decision _

_That something must be done to maintain the school's division._

_Gryffindor made a suggestion, taking me from his head,_

_He proposed that I linger, to judge in their stead_

_It has been centuries, and yet here I remain, _

_As the one that will quarter you, the hat with a brain._

_If fighting for justice and freedom would suit you best_

_Then in Golden Gryffindor you'll find a worthy crest._

_If loyalty and truth are what you value the most_

_Hufflepuff will be the house that makes a worthy host._

_Perhaps to pursue knowledge is your greatest desire_

_In that case, it is Ravenclaw that will give what you require._

_If you are ambitious, with a distant goal to get to_

_Slytherin might be the one to help you see it through._

_Leave your fear and come forth, and I will let you know_

_Which house would suit you best, if you want to grow._"

The hat was still once more, indifferent to the tumultuous applause its song received from the hall. When the cheers and clapping died away, Professor Gorvett pulled out and unravelled a long roll of parchment from his robes. "When I call your name, step forward and sit on the stool and I will place the hat on your head. After you have been sorted, please make your way to the assigned house."

He picked up the battered old hat. "Aakula, Eeva!"

And so it began. Eeva was quickly sorted into Ravenclaw, where she was followed by Mika Ahmed, the big-eyed boy Albus had shared a boat with. Sahib Akram became the first Hufflepuff.

Professor Gorvett's hand moved further and further down the scroll, and the group in front the sorting hat grew smaller and smaller. Albus felt very exposed in front of the hundreds of eyes staring at them.

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

The hat sat on the boy's pale blond hair for a few seconds before –

"SLYTHERIN!"

Albus would have thought he had imagined the undercurrent of malicious sounds coming from the other student's response if it had not been for Professor Gorvitt's suddenly angry eyes flashing at the tables, most likely searching the hall for the source of the unfriendly noise.

"Orabi, Muhammad!"

"GYFFINDOR!"

"Potter, Albus!"

Albus walked up to the stool and clumsily sat down, his legs were like jelly.

The sorting hat fell over his eyes, hiding him from the watchful hall.

"Albus Potter." Said a small voice in his ear, making him jump. "You certainly aren't anywhere near as difficult as your father to place. You have a fair mind, I can see that, as well as consideration, humility as well as pride."

Oh Merlin, thought Albus, what if the Sorting hat puts me in Hufflepuff? James will make fun of me forever.

The voice chuckled, "Not keen on Hufflepuff, eh? I don't see why not, it's a worthy house; the members are loyal and true. But if you don't feel that's the place for you, then your shrewdness and tact, as well as your desire to belong, would have you better suited in –

"SLYTHERIN!"

Albus stumbled off the stool as Professor Gorvett took the hat off his head. He made his way to the table clapping the most and waving at him, feeling as if he'd left most of his insides heaped on the seat of the stool. He didn't dare look at the other tables, lest he catch sight of his brother's face. He didn't even want to imagine what James' expression would be. Albus didn't even realise who he'd sat opposite to before they shook his hand. It was Scorpius Malfoy. He drew his hand quickly away as if burnt and sat in shock, staring at the golden, empty plate in front of him.

* * *

Author's note

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the positive reviews, it's really encouraging :) I've got a whole story plot outlined now, and I'll be posting a new chapter every Sunday.

If you've got a criticism or a suggestion to improve this story, don't hesitate to let me know


	3. Chapter 3

Albus kept his head trained at his plate for the rest of the sorting, his face burning.

"Reich, Neriah!"

A short pause as the girl made her way to the stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

A huge wave of applause washed over him, the same applause, Albus thought, he would have got if he'd been put in Gryffindor, too.

"Stevenson, Carrie!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Well, at least he wasn't in Hufflepuff.

"Sung, Huan-yue!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Weasley, Rose!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Albus resisted the urge to turn around and smile and clap with everyone else as Rose made her way to her seat at the Ravenclaw table. He didn't want to take the risk of making eye contact with James.

"Zabini, Femi!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Albus looked up from his place only after Professor had put the sorting hat and stool away, when a goblet was tapped to signify the start of the headmaster's speech.

A thin, old man clad in deep, pine-green robes stood before them all, waiting for the chatter to die down before he began. He seem to have a permanent expression of scrutiny on his face, his brow was furrowed slightly as if in the middle of important calculations.

When the students had settled he started speaking.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts, my name is Professor Forbes, and I hope you all enjoy the fabulous banquet that has been prepared for your arrival." The headmaster sat abruptly down and food began materialise on the plates before their very eyes. Most likely the real speech came after everyone had eaten, so people's attention would be focused more on the speaker rather than what they were about to eat.

Huge platters bearing roast potatoes, wedgies and sausages began to appear up and down the table, along with massive gravy boats and bowls of peas, string beans and caramelised carrots. Plates of Chicken and steak were positioned along every five places; no matter where you sat you were able to get whatever food you fancied.

"Would you like some potatoes?"

Albus looked up into the face of a burly fourth year who looked like he'd knock him out if he refused.

"Um, yeah, sure" He replied nervously.

"Don't worry, the headmaster's speech at the end of the feast won't be that long, so you can go to bed soon."

Albus was confused as to what the boy meant by this, but then he realised that his lack of enthusiasm at being placed in Slytherin had been automatically attributed to exhaustion.

He watched the golden rondelles of potato being scooped onto his plate. They looked delicious, the edges slightly brown with crispiness, and the middle was almost glittering with the succulent juices and oils. Albus suddenly remembered how hungry he was and, after a saying a quick thanks to the fourth-year, dived in.

Albus barely had enough room for dessert, he'd eaten so much. Despite his stomach feeling awfully swollen, his mouth still watered for some more chicken legs as they began to dissolve away from sight, silver bowls of various puddings taking their place.

"I'm Ryan by the way," Said the fourth-year.

"I'm Albus," Albus replied, still feeling a bit surprised at how friendly this scary-looking person was.

"So, are you excited about starting Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to Charms, that sounds like a lot of fun," Albus found himself saying.

"That's one of my favourite subjects. It's so popular at Hogwarts they have two professors teaching it now, Professor Wishwood and Professor Inocan." Ryan began loading his plate with a black forest gateau.

Albus chose a slice of chocolate fudge cake and began drizzling cream all over it. He found that cream helped him digest cakes better, especially when he was full already. He looked up to the teacher's table.

"Is that them there?" He asked Ryan, indicating to two men making cream and sauce float about above their heads like streamers as they laughed.

"How did you guess?" Smiled Ryan.

When everyone had stuffed themselves as much as possible, and a relaxed chatter had filled the hall, the headmaster stood up again.

"Before we all go to bed, I have a few start-of-term notices to give to you.

"First-years should note that they are forbidden from going into the forest, as well as anywhere outside of the grounds of this school. We have been having issues with the acromantula, and I assure you that they will not be sympathetic, no matter what excuse you have for wandering outside the boundaries of Hogwarts.

"Quidditch try-outs for house teams will take place in the next two weeks, please refer to your team's captain for details.

"Students using fanged frisbees and other merchandise in corridors that are potentially harmful to other students will risk having the offending possessions confiscated permanently. The full list of prohibited items can be found pinned to your house common room's notice board.

"I think that is it for now, please may the newly appointed prefects escort the first-years to their house common-rooms, and can the rest of you head to your dormitories, for although tomorrow is Saturday, you will all have to be down for breakfast at 8'o'clock so we can begin sorting out timetables."

The hall seemed to surge like a stormy sea as everyone stood up and started moving around at once. The Slytherin first-years instinctively stayed together at the end of the table and waited for the two prefects to come to them.

"I'm Vuelonta," Said a dark-haired girl with a shiny prefect's badge pinned to her chest as she approached them, "And this is Craig." A sullen-looking boy followed her.

Craig went to the back of the line of Slytherin first years to ensure that no stragglers were lost in the labyrinth of corridors and passage ways on the way to the common room, while Vuelonta took the front. Femi was first after her, and the rest of the first-years followed.

Albus watched his feet for most of the journey, he was too tired to keep his head facing up, and he also wanted to make sure he didn't trip or stumble.

They went beneath the ground floor, along dimly-lit passage ways, occasionally passing older Slytherins strolling along as they chatted. Vuelonta, however, kept up a brisk pace until finally they came to a halt at part of a wall along a corridor. Albus wondered why they had stopped at this random place, and then Vuelonta spoke.

"Hognose"

The wall melted away to reveal a slightly damp-smelling, narrow passage way lit with a greenish glow from the other end. They went down in single-file towards the light. Before long the passage way opened to reveal a stately, majestic room with luxurious dark-green and black leather armchairs and sofas arranged in horseshoes, with the occasionally matching pouffe. An imposing fireplace with a slightly emerald glare to the sparkling fire it held dominated the room. Oak bookcases and shelves stood by the walls beneath green lamps, lavishly designed wall decorations and tapestries. Maple desks were clustered here and there, polished to reflect the dancing lamplight and green glow from the lake.

"This is the Slytherin common room. You can study by the desks over there, but you may find the library is a better working environment. This is where you can spend your free time; we have a wireless to catch the witching hour and other programmes, as well as books and some wizard's chess sets and exploding snap cards. The dormitories are through these two doors," Vuelonta crossed the room, passing the other students watching the first years from their seats by the fire, apparently unaware of how unnerving their gazes were. Two doors stood there, separated by a single portrait of a woman sleeping by a stream beneath a willow tree, embellished with tiny snakes amid leaves, the pattern entwining its way around the edges of the door.

"The boys' dormitories are through the left door, while the girls' are through the right. If you go through the wrong door you'll be repelled back by the boundary charm placed over the threshold. I'll show the girls to their beds, Craig you take the boys."

Without waiting for a reply, Vuelonta went through the door, followed by the girls. Craig sighed as the boys turned round to face him.

"Come on then," He said, pushing his way through them and going through the other door. Albus followed Femi through the doorway and found himself on a great stone balcony that looked down into a spacious hallway, with eight doors leading off of it. There was a single, dark window at the other end of the room. Albus wondered why they'd have windows underground at all; perhaps they'd bewitched the glass to show a view, like the windows at the Ministry of Magic where his father worked.

Craig pointed them through the first doorway with "first-years" carved into it meticulously. "You'll find all your stuff already in there at the foot of your beds. If you've got any questions then bother Vuelonta." And with that he left them, without even saying goodnight.

It was an octagonal room, with another black window on the wall opposite the door. Six four-poster beds lined the walls, with green, exquisitely patterned drapes. It was cold in the dormitory, and Albus hurried to get to his bed, the one nearest the window on the left side. He subtly extracted a toy niffler from his trunk before drawing the hangings to his bed and changing into his pyjamas. As soon as he'd got underneath the convers of his bed, which was surprisingly warm, he fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Albus woke up early, his throat so dry he couldn't even swallow. He pushed back the covers and pulled open the bed's hangings, a chilled draught swallowing the sleepy warmth that had formed over his bed in the night.

He slung his feet out of bed, wincing as the cold stone floor bit into them. Not wanting to wake the others, he decided against rummaging about his trunk for his slippers, and instead braved the icy floor bare-foot. He reached the night-stand and poured out a glass of water before quickly settling back onto his bed, sitting on his feet to try and warm them up again. He glanced at the green light pouring in from the window before taking a sip from his cup, choking slightly on the water as he swung his head up again to stare at the glass. On the other side, a horned creature glared back at him, its long, brittle fingers pressed against the panes. It rapped on the window, causing Albus to spill the chilled water all down himself in alarm. It knocked again, its mouth opening to reveal two horrid rows of pointy green teeth.

Albus barely had time to contemplate how the little monster was _swimming_ as he shoved the cup back on the night stand before backing away to stand by his trunk, watching the demon from what he hoped was a safe distance. The creature continued to flex and tap on the glass, looking more gruesome the more Albus looked at it. He took another step back, and his heal collided painfully with the corner of his trunk. The thing in the window began to emit bubbles in its mirth, its croaky, gnarly guffaws not entirely muffled by the glass barrier. Suddenly the curtains on the bed on the other side of the window were wrenched open, causing the demon to retreat in surprise. When it saw the look on Femi's face it scarpered entirely, the window now only showing the green, shimmering light of the lake.

Femi turned to face Albus, the grouchy, sullen expression on his face not lessening in the slightest. "You'd better have a pretty good reason for messing about with a Grindylow at half six in the morning."

"I wasn't- I- Was- I" Albus continued to splutter as Femi took a step toward him.

"What, did you miss out on some of your beauty sleep?" They both turned round to see a sleepy-looking boy with great tufts of brown hair sticking up around him like a lion's mane poking out of another bed's hangings.

Femi glowered at him, but turned away to pour himself a cup of water and went back to lie back on his bed, still looking grumpy. Albus gingerly sat down on his bed, worried that any sudden action would set Femi off again. He looked briefly up at the window, he could just about make out the glimmering surface of the lake. He settled more comfortably on his bed, his feet still very cold.

"What's your name?" The boy asked him, smiling encouragingly, his head still floating amid the green cloths surrounding his bed.

"Albus,"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Cuinn, Cuinn Lathspiel. And you, the grumpy one, you're Femi Zabini?"

"How did you know?" Said Femi, his voice still tinged with irritability.

"My powers of deduction." Quinn replied, before disappearing behind the curtains, therefore missing the look Femi gave him.

Albus crawled to the end of his bed and began to fish out clothing from the trunk. Femi sighed and pulled his covers over his head, curling up under the green sheets.

Albus was pulling on his sweater as Cuinn emerged, neatly dressed in a shirt, jumper and trousers. He pulled back his hangings, making an elaborate knot with a silver rope tie back to keep them in place. His hair was still tufty at the back like a chocolate cloud yet he seemed not to care as he began to tidy up his covers.

"Why don't you let the house-elves do that?" asked Femi, his eyes peeking out from his duvet.

"Oh… Well I've kind of got into the habit of doing it myself ever since our house-elf died." Cuinn replied, a sad expression seeping into his face.

"You could get a new one."

"There's not really any point, we can use spells to do most of the chores the house-elves would do." Cuinn turned away to search his trunk for some socks.

Albus' family didn't have a house-elf, they did all their house-work themselves. He began to worry that he was the only boy in the dormitory who didn't come from such a rich background.

"Is it time to get up?" A pale boy dressed in a long snowy white shirt had opened his hangings, "Wait, why are you two wearing that?"

Albus was confused, he looked down quickly and didn't see anything wrong with his clothes, "What do you mean?" He asked the boy.

"You're wearing _muggle_ clothes. Is this some sort of joke?"

"No," Cuinn said, straightening up from pulling on his shoes.

"Maybe you took the wrong train; this is a school of _magic_, it's for wizards, not farm animals."

Albus blinked at the harsh tone of the boy. He'd been warned by his parents that there would be nasty people like this, but this rudeness still came as a shock.

"I'd rather to be a farm-animal than to be someone like you." He found himself saying

"Excuse me?" The boy stared at him, looking scandalised.

Before Albus could say anything, someone coughed. Everyone, even the dozing Femi, turned to see who it was. Scorpius Malfoy was nervously looking round at them all.

"Umm I was just wondering if anyone knew where the bathroom was."

"I'll show you where it is, I'd rather not spend any more time with these apes," The boy walked imperiously across the room, oblivious to how ludicrous he looked in his flowing white night-clothes. Scorpius followed sheepishly.

When the door had closed, Cuinn began miming strangling an imaginary version of the boy, making Albus laugh.

"Come on, it's still an hour 'til breakfast but we might as well leave before that nasty prat returns."

They left Femi and another boy who hadn't yet woken up and they headed up to the common room. It was empty, the dark ashes in the fireplace still hadn't been swept away from the night before, and they glittered in the murky morning light coming from the lake. They sat down on a couple of dark leather armchairs by the grate while they waited for someone to come who could show them the way to the Great Hall.

"So, have you got any brothers or sisters already here?" Cuinn asked him.

"Just one, he's a third-year, in Gryffindor."

Cuinn looked at him sharply, but turned away to watch the doors leading to the dormitories when Albus glanced up to meet his gaze.

"What about you?" Asked Albus, finding himself feel a bit anxious.

"Only child." Replied Cuinn shortly.

They waited another few minutes in silence until Vuelonta emerged with a few of the girls in first year trailing behind her. She wore a long velvety robe that trailed behind her, the other girls keeping well away in order not to trample on the ends.

"Right, do you two need to be guided to the Great hall as well?" Cuinn and Albus nodded and stood up. "Well come along then."

She sped off towards the passage-way's opening, leading them swiftly along the corridors, so fast that they had to break into a jog a couple of times just to keep up with her long strides.

They finally reached the Great hall, Albus panting slightly due to a stitch in his side.

"Table on the end, the food will arrive momentarily."

There were only a few students dotted about the tables, so there was enough space for all the first years that Vuelonta had led there to sit together.

Albus ended up sitting opposite Cuinn as the girls chatted away, ignoring the boys entirely excepting a shooting few subtle glances their way.

"Do you know what's for breakfast?" Albus asked Cuinn, trying to appear friendly.

"Probably anything and everything, porridge, toast, bacon, eggs – you name it." Cuinn looked up at Albus, who smiled. The corners of Cuinn's mouth twitched, seemingly against his will, and he looked away again.

"What do you think we'll be doing after the timetables are given out?"

"I don't know."

Albus stopped questioning Cuinn after that, he didn't want to pester him when he clearly wasn't in the mood for conversation. Cuinn had seemed perfectly fine before Albus had started talking about his brother. Perhaps it was because his brother was in Gryffindor, and Cuinn was now going to treat Albus as if he, too, was in Gryffindor, an enemy by definition. And to make matters worse, James was probably going to be treating like he was some sort of nemesis, just because they were in different houses.

Albus was beginning to feel generally disheartened about Hogwarts; it seemed to him like it was going to be a lot harder and more miserable than he had thought.

* * *

Author's note-

Sorry about not updating for two weeks! I've just started my A-levels and I've had a hard typing coping with the sudden loads of work, but today I had an inset day so I thought I could make an entry

I'm so sorry guys :(


	5. Chapter 5

No one paid Albus much attention during breakfast, so he ate a lot more than he would have done, just so he had something to do. He didn't turn around during the entire meal; he wanted to put off having to see his brother until the last possible moment.

A sharp tap on the shoulder brought him out of his second bowl of porridge. He looked up to see Professor Gorvett standing over him, clutching big squares of parchment. "Here is your timetable, Potter. If you need any help, come and see me in the head of house office." Professor Gorvett rubbed his chin significantly at Albus as he turned away, and Albus quickly began wiping his mouth clean of porridge, not before a couple of second-years sitting a few seats away noticed and started sniggering at him. Albus tried to pretend he hadn't noticed them and turned to look at his timetable.

"Can't wait for Monday, Charms looks fascinating!" The rude, pale boy from the dormitory was excitedly reciting his timetable to Femi, who was slouching slightly against the table, not bothering to even disguise his boredom. The other boy seemed oblivious, however. It was only when Femi said "Okay Edgar," with the cold tone of finality, that the snob ceased his monologue.

When everyone had finished eating, Professor Forbes stood up and announced that everyone would be spending the morning doing activities. The teachers who had been assigned classes began to collect their students and lead them away to classrooms. Albus, along with the rest of the Slytherin and Ravenclaw first-years, would be spending the time with the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Durtwood. He lead them out through the huge golden doors of the Great Hall, across the flagstone floor and out into the grounds.

The frost had already begun to steam off the grass as he escorted towards the Forbidden Forest, bringing them to a halt near the edge of the dense thicket of trees and bushes, where chopped tree trunks had been arranged in a circle. Albus sat down next to Cuinn on the edge of a log and waited quietly for everyone else to be seated.

"So, before we start off, how about we all get to know each other? I want to go round the circle, each of you say your name, what you're most looking forward to about Hogwarts, and, um, an interesting fact about yourself."

Albus felt his stomach drop. He hated situations like this. There were only about twenty one people present, but that didn't weaken his feeling of nausea as his time to speak approached. He began swallowing repeatedly as Huan-yue started to talk; now there were only five people left before he would have to speak. Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

He clasped his hands and looked at the ground as Cuinn spoke about Transfiguration and how his house had been infested with Bundimuns.

"I didn't realise it had grown under my bed as well, so when I dropped my remembrall down there, I didn't hesitate to stick my hand in to try and get it back. I was in St. Mungo's for two weeks." Cuinn proudly showed them the scars on his arm, a couple of students were craning their heads to get a better look.

The chatter invoked by this died down, and Albus knew they were all staring at him, waiting for him to look up and start talking. He slowly lifted his head to face them, his mouth opening and closing slightly as he tried to force his voice out.

"Uh, I'm Albus and, uh, I'm looking forward to everything, I guess; Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, uh, lessons in general, I guess, uh, yeah..."

His classmates' gazes were unwavering, and Albus could still feel his hands shaking slightly as he clasped them together.

"Good, now tell us an interesting fact about yourself." Professor Durtwood smiled encouragingly at him, but not sympathetically.

"There's not really anything to say, really." Albus said, mournfully. To his surprise, the other students laughed. He immediately assumed that they were laughing at his social ineptitude, but then he wondered whether he'd actually said something funny.

"Oh, alright, we'll come back to you later, when you've thought of something." Professor Durtwood was chuckling slightly; they evidently thought Albus had said it as a joke. He breathed a sigh of relief as the class' attention moved onto Rose.

After they had all finished introducing themselves, Professor Durtwood began to tell them about the herds of Centaurs and Thestrals that lived in the forest, and the Merpeople and magical creatures that lived in the lake. It was all very interesting, but Albus began to realise, as the teacher went on, that he was also setting down rules for them. They weren't allowed into the forest, as well as anywhere over the boundaries of the grounds. They weren't allowed outside after dark, either. These rules were probably for the school to exercise their authority over the students as well as protect them from any dangers, such as werewolves.

Professor Durtwood lead them back inside for lunch as the sun reached its height in the sky.

"What's the Slytherin common room like?"

"Huh?" Albus looked up to see Rose striding next to him, a cheerful grin on her face. "Oh, uh, green, and dark…"

"What can you see from the windows?

"Water and the occasional grindylow." Rose looked confused. "Oh, it's under the lake, so the windows look out under the water, if that makes sense? I think they put a force field around the glass so that the dormitories wouldn't flood."

"That's so cool! So can you see much through the glass? Or are you so deep under the water that it's dark even in the day?" Rose seemed a lot more enthusiastic about this than he was. Well, she hadn't had to face ghastly little water-beasts that morning.

"Um, well this morning you could make out some sunlight, but it was murky."

"It's still really cool. It's a bit sad how we're all split up, though." The smile began to slide off Rose's face. "Most of our time will be spent in our common rooms, so that's not encouraging interhouse friendships, is it? If we're all separated?"

"I suppose you're right," Albus said, beginning to feel rather gloomy as well as hungry as they approached the school entrance.

"Promise me," Said Rose, as the Slytherins and Ravenclaws in their class began to break away to go to their house tables, "That you'll hang out with me and Carrie, in the Library or something, somewhere where we can all be together?"

"Yeah, alright," Albus smiled at her as she turned away to join her fellow classmates at the Ravenclaw table.


	6. Chapter 6

Albus felt like he was being dragged away from his dreams through thick, muddy reeds as he was shaken roughly awake the next morning. He blinked groggily up at his disturber, who continued to yank on his arm.

He turned over and found himself staring up at a house elf, with a slightly rattish face, who was standing on the bed sheets, looking slightly nervous as it returned his gaze.

"Mr Potter sir – Muffy is afraid he will have to get ups now – so Muffy can cleans the dormitories."

"Oh, uh, right – sorry." Albus clambered out o hisf bed and stood, watching, as the house elf immediately began to puff up the pillows and open the bed covers for airing. In a few seconds the bed looked like it had never been slept in at all. The house elf proceeded to tidy up the other abandoned beds.

Albus pulled the cloak he'd been wearing yesterday afternoon around his pyjamas, not wanting to reach for clean clothes lest he got in the way of the house elf's work. He backed out of the dormitory and headed for the bathroom. Pushing open the door, he was met with a most unflattering reflection that loomed out of the tarnished silver mirror: His messy, dark hair making his face seem even paler than it was; His eyes were small with sleep sand and the side effects of lying on one's front; Albus hurriedly began to wash his face in the freezing water that gushed from the snake-like taps. After waiting around for a few minutes, examining the serpentine patterns in the tiles, he headed back to the dormitory, for he couldn't walk around all day dressed as he was, house elf or no house elf.

Fortunately, the room was empty, and Albus changed into his special jumper, hand knitted by his grandma. He felt that this was going to be an even tougher day, so he needed this extra piece of comfort. He had spent the rest of yesterday lurking in the corner of the Slytherin common room, pretending to read his textbooks in order to hide his watery eyes. No one had bothered him; he had successfully concealed himself in the faintly green shadows, with a huge oak book case hiding him from most of the common room.

His stomach groaned loudly, and he looked at his watch, and saw that it was already 11 o'clock. He'd have to wait for over an hour before he could eat. Albus sighed and pulled on his trousers, ignoring the cackles of a grindylow that scraped against the window panes, trying to get his attention so it could make rude hand gestures.

A faint, green, wavering light was now lighting up the dormitory, making the morning feel surreal. Albus was used to the warm, yellow light that used to shine through the curtains in his bedroom as he woke up to the smell of pancakes, prepared by his Dad every Saturday and Sunday. Feeling the pangs of homesickness again, he sat on the floor (not wanting to undo the house elf's work) and breathed deeply, willing the tears not to flow, yet again. He got up only when he heard the footsteps of someone approaching, and busied himself by his trunk so that anyone who entered wouldn't be able to see his sore eyes. But the footsteps died away, and Albus straightened up and, after a few more breaths, headed out into the corridor.

The common room was almost empty, apart from a few older students who lounged on the rich leather seats by the empty grate of the fireplace. They smirked as he walked in, glancing at his jumper, one of them said –

"Running a bit late, are we?"

They laughed, and Albus immediately flushed with anxiety: no wonder his dormitory was empty – all the other first years must have gone to a morning activity! He began to rush to the entrance of the Slytherin common room, pursued by the students' cackles as they watched the first year bumble across the floor.

Once out into the corridor, Albus felt himself really begin to panic. He had no idea how to find them; he didn't even know where his head of house's office was. His shoes slapped pathetically against the stone floor as he hurried along the passage way, hoping to find someone – anyone – who could point him in the right direction.

"Oi!"

He spun round and saw Craig, still managing to slouch, as he sidled up to Albus. "Why aren't you with the other first years?"  
"I, uh- overslept," Admitted Albus, trying to sound as apologetic as he could.

"Not a good start, is it?" Said Craig, unsmiling. Not waiting for a reply, he continued, "just go to the library or somewhere and wait for the lunch bell, it's too late to go to the activity now."

Albus couldn't quite remember where the library was, but his plea for help failed on his lips as Craig turned away, heading back to the common river, looking rather like an overweight baboon as he moseyed along, neither aware of nor caring for Albus' helplessness.

Albus stood still for a few moments, mentally criticizing himself for being so feeble and useless, before resigning himself to wandering along the corridors until he found the library.

What he estimated to be forty minutes had gone by before he finally found it, deserted apart from an ancient, vulture-like librarian who glared at him suspiciously as he entered.

Wishing to distance himself from such an irritable-looking witch, he went to the far side of the library and turned into an aisle which contained books H-P on Magical History. He gazed for a few moments at the worn, depleted spines of these ancient volumes before turning his attention to the window, where he could see the forbidden forest and the mountains beyond. The trees seemed to be relishing the sunlight as they waved their branches cheerfully in the early autumn breeze. Albus drew out a chair from a table and moved it so he could sit in the sun without its brightness screening his face from the glorious view.

He had been basking in the morning warmth for about half an hour when he heard the lunch bell. Paying no heed to the old witch's tutting, he hastened from the library and half-ran until he reached the Great Hall, his stomach now aching with hunger. He had arrived before his classmates: he was already onto his second course by the time Cuinn, Edgar, Femi and everyone else arrived. To his disappointment, they sat at the end of the table nearest the door, while he sat up near the staff table. He felt very much alone, even more so when he was surrounded by a loud group of third-years, so he got up and left before the pudding had arrived. The other first years seemed not to see him as he passed by, and he was almost at the door when someone caught his arm. He turned round to see Rose, looking at him with a worried expression on her face.

"Are you sick? I didn't see you at activities today."

"No, I – I overslept." It sounded even more stupid than when he had said it to Craig.

"It was rather boring, you didn't miss much. But we have the afternoon off, so do you want to come with Carrie and I? We're going to sit by the lake."

"Okay," Albus grinned, Rose was always so considerate. He never told anyone this, because it was a bit mean, but she was his favourite cousin.

The sun continued to shine brightly for the rest of the day, and they sat by the banks of the black lake and watched the water brim against the reeds as the day wore on. There would be no grindylows this close to the edge of the water, so Albus was finally able to relax. He had had an enjoyable afternoon and went to bed feeling relatively calm, waking up the next morning feel well-rested and ready to face his new school life.

* * *

Author's note:

I AM SO SORRY

I have been so stressed with A levels and everything... and I haven't been able to update for months and I AM SO SORRY

THERE ARE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE HOW APOLOGETIC I AM RIGHT NOW

I banged this out and I hope you like it

I plan for the main plot to be put into place soon, I hope you like it and stuff omg I am so sorry


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